Situation Report: Rohingya Crisis - Cox's Bazar | 12 April 2018

Situation Report: Rohingya Crisis - Cox's Bazar | 12 April 2018

Since 25 August 2017, extreme violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar, has driven an estimated 687,000 Rohingya refugees across the border into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Generations of statelessness imposed vulnerabilities on these people even before the severe traumas of this most recent crisis. The people and Government of Bangladesh welcomed them with resounding generosity and open borders. The speed and scale of the influx was nonetheless a challenge, and the humanitarian community stepped up its support to help mitigate a critical humanitarian emergency. Months later, refugees remain forced to rely upon humanitarian assistance for their basic needs. They live in congested sites that are ill-equipped to handle the early rains, monsoon and cyclone seasons.

Many refugees have expressed anxiety about their future in light of media reports of discussions on returns, explaining that they would not agree to return until questions of citizenship, legal rights, access to services, justice and restitution are addressed.